Names I like but could never use...

[Kiki]

I loved [name]Salome[/name]'s list of names she loved but couldn’t bring herself to use that I had to give it a go myself. Let’s see what I can think of.

[name]Olivia[/name]/[name]Olive[/name]/[name]Olivette[/name] - All lovely names but too popular now even if I shortened it to [name]Olly[/name] or [name]Liv[/name].
[name]Cairo[/name] - A beautiful sounding name for boy or girl but I have no links to the place so it’d seem a little obscure.
[name]Valencia[/name] - A beautiful sounding, flowing place name but still sounds too much like a place name and not a human name.
[name]Meadow[/name] - Beautiful and soft but… It’s a meadow. Too literal.
[name]Valley[/name] - I adore the flow and the letters used and I would totally use it if only it didn’t mean an actual place. Same problem as [name]Meadow[/name].
[name]Jessica[/name]/[name]Charlotte[/name] - [name]Both[/name] too popular and common now but I liked them when I was younger.
[name]Meredith[/name] - I think it’s a nice name but too old sounding for a child.
[name]Lilah[/name]/[name]Lola[/name]/[name]Lily[/name] - [name]Love[/name] all the L’s but too popular now.
[name]Sally[/name] - I like it but it seems too simple.
[name]Melissa[/name] - [name]Lovely[/name] but I knew someone with a cat called [name]Melissa[/name] so I can’t get that out of my head now.
[name]Melisande[/name] - A more unique version of [name]Melissa[/name] but worried it’d be shortened to [name]Sandy[/name] and it’s a little too unknown I think.
[name]Felix[/name] - Great name but I still only imagine a cat.
[name]William[/name] - [name]Lovely[/name] and a family name but probably too much of a family name and fairly simple and ordinary. It’s a little too safe.
[name]Casey[/name] - Boy or girl I like it. But there’s something just not quite right…
[name]Lennox[/name] - I love the sound of it but I’ll leave it to Brangelina I think.
[name]Marley[/name] - Same as above but it also makes me think of ‘[name]Marley[/name] and Me.’
[name]Harlow[/name] - Wonderful sounding name but I’d rather not steal from [name]Nicole[/name] [name]Richie[/name].
Megara - Like it but it’d become [name]Meg[/name] which is too boring. Also I’d think of Disney all the time.
[name]Aurora[/name] - A little too unusual I think but I love [name]Rory[/name] as a nickname. Still it’s too disney.
[name]Ariel[/name] - Disney.
[name]Cassiopeia[/name] - A. I can never remember how to spell it, B. it’s just too big and grand a name and C. It’s probably just that little bit too weird.
[name]Juno[/name] - Nice but too associated with the film of the same name

I think that’s it. [name]Hope[/name] you enjoy. Not all of them were that weird

[salome]

Yay! More fun!

[name]Olivia[/name]/[name]Olive[/name]/[name]Olivette[/name] - Personally, I still haven’t ruled it out as a middle name.

[name]Cairo[/name] - Probably a bit much. But I should talk. I’m secretly in love with [name]Memphis[/name].

[name]Valencia[/name] - I automatically think of oranges. Maybe because I’m from [name]Florida[/name].

[name]Meadow[/name] - I agree. That’s a hippie level of literal.

[name]Valley[/name] - Ditto.

[name]Jessica[/name]/[name]Charlotte[/name] - [name]Jessica[/name] never held appeal for me, but I had years ago picked out [name]Charlotte[/name]… I had no idea everyone else had the same plan. Sad.

[name]Meredith[/name] - I does still sound a little old, but it has such a nice rhythm.

[name]Lilah[/name]/[name]Lola[/name]/[name]Lily[/name] - [name]Lila[/name] and [name]Lola[/name] never did it for me but [name]Lily[/name] is pretty. I’m just not into flower/plant names enough to use it.

[name]Sally[/name] - I think [name]Sally[/name] would be more fun as a nickname for something else.

[name]Melissa[/name] - I’ve known too many [name]Melissa[/name]'s for this to ever be an option.

[name]Melisande[/name] - I love this version too, but I think it’s probably too “fancy” for our fellow Americans. They’d never say it right.

[name]Felix[/name] - I’m in love with [name]Felix[/name]!

[name]William[/name] - You’re right. This has all the makings of a perfect name, there are just too many [name]Williams[/name] running around from generation to generation. He’d introduce himself and promptly be confused for [name]John[/name] and [name]Tom[/name].

[name]Casey[/name] - I automatically think of [name]Casey[/name] at the [name]Bat[/name], which gives me the warm fuzzies (you’ll soon find that’s my greatest measure of a name). But you’re right. It’s just… missing something. Substance maybe.

[name]Lennox[/name] - Brangelina 100%. Besides, most people have [name]Lennox[/name] porcelain somewhere in their homes. It’d be too much.

[name]Marley[/name] - I immediately think of [name]Bob[/name] [name]Marley[/name], which is fun. But as much as I love his music, he was a little too weird to associate with my child. If I wanted to go fun, I’d name them [name]Remy[/name] and then feel like they at least had a [name]Saint[/name] as a namesake.

[name]Harlow[/name] - It’s too, too. Thinking of [name]Jean[/name] [name]Harlow[/name] and my daughter at the same time would be too much for me. Not to mention the “hollow” sound it evokes.

Megara - Yeah, I think Disney too.

[name]Aurora[/name] - [name]Aurora[/name]'s definitely Disney. It also sounds empty to me somehow. Like a princess without any pep.

[name]Ariel[/name] - Disney too. Too bad because it’s a beautiful name and used by males in [name]Israel[/name].

[name]Cassiopeia[/name] - Too grand. Too much. But fun to say.

[name]Juno[/name] - The goddess [name]Juno[/name] is just too “nagging wife” of an image. I’d hate to stick a girl with that.

[lemon]

[name]Olivia[/name]/[name]Olive[/name]/[name]Olivette[/name] - I honestly love [name]Olivia[/name], because it reminds me of Shakespearean elegance. I try to ignore its uber-popularity. [name]Liv[/name] is a darling nickname, too!

[name]Cairo[/name] - Yep, I don’t think I could pull this off. I don’t think a visit is enough of a link…

[name]Valencia[/name] - I think of the oranges. I think it is really pretty, and I’d still consider it for a MN if you really love it!

[name]Meadow[/name] - Too literal for sure, and I don’t agree with the softness. It reminds me of [name]Bambi[/name], and Thumper, and the sadness that is the [name]Bambi[/name] movie…

[name]Valley[/name] - Far too literal. Hidden [name]Valley[/name] Ranch Dressing. Ha!

[name]Jessica[/name]/[name]Charlotte[/name] - [name]Jessica[/name] seems dated, but not in a cute way for me. I still love [name]Charlotte[/name], even if it is a chart-climber, and I wouldn’t hesitate to use it.

[name]Meredith[/name] - I honestly don’t think it is old. It is one of the more different, feminine, surname names that I think is actually refreshingly modern and cute for a middle name.

[name]Lilah[/name]/[name]Lola[/name]/[name]Lily[/name] - [name]Lily[/name] is my favorite, but I know too many dogs with this name…

[name]Sally[/name] - This does seem simple, and dated. I prefer [name]Sadie[/name].

[name]Melissa[/name] - [name]Melissa[/name] seems like a name from my mom’s generation…

[name]Melisande[/name] - [name]Sandy[/name], ick! I agree on that front.

[name]Felix[/name] - Yep, a kitty name. Or a stunner of a middle name?

[name]William[/name] - [name]James[/name] is my [name]William[/name], and I would still use it, but probably as a middle name. I don’t think [name]James[/name] is quite as popular as [name]William[/name], though.

[name]Casey[/name] - This is one of the few unisex names that I really can’t decide if I like more for a boy or girl, even if it isn’t my style. It has that nickname-y feel that turns me off, though…

[name]Lennox[/name] - I firmly believe that Brangelina would never use this for their next child because [name]Knox[/name] has the exact same sound, and I personally love it! It has the just perfect balance of cool and class. And, [name]Lenox[/name] (this is how it is spelled) porcelain doesn’t really bother me, personally. I love it as a middle name!

[name]Harlow[/name] - Same with [name]Shiloh[/name] - I’d feel like I was stealing. But, I might be able to do [name]Tatum[/name], which I think has a similar feel.

Megara - Before Disney, I think of the classic [name]Hercules[/name] myth that the movie is based on. I honestly don’t mind the nickname [name]Meg[/name], but I think this might be too much.

[name]Aurora[/name] - I think this is the least Disney of the Disney names, and I only recently found out this is what Sleeping Beauty’s name was! I still really like it, and [name]Rory[/name] is cute. Disney wouldn’t hold me back here.

[name]Ariel[/name] - Oh, definitely Disney! As Disney as [name]Simba[/name] and [name]Nahla[/name].

[name]Cassiopeia[/name] - One of my absolute favorite mythological names to say. I took seven years of Latin and Greek, so I had my fair share, but I feel like those who didn’t get that wouldn’t see the attraction or understand the name, which bothers me. And, [name]Cassie[/name] seems like a 90s nickname…

[name]Juno[/name] - Too goddess for me, and of course the movie! If I had to pick a goddess name, it would be [name]Rhea[/name]. Normal enough, but still mythologically cool!